Of Hustlers and Sweethearts
by unicornhime
Summary: Korra, Mako, and Bolin take the airbending kids to the cherry blossom festival. After a bit of hustling and general festivities, Mako gets Korra alone for a moment.


"Kooorrraaa! Your _boyfriend_ is here!"

"Jinora, for the last time, just because I said he was handsome, doesn't mean he's my – oh, uh, hi Mako." Korra slid to a stop as she rounded the corner, glaring daggers at Jinora, who hid giggling in a corner with Ikki.

"Hey."

"Uh, where's Bolin?"

"I'm here," he poked his head in the doorway. "Are you ready? You look great!"

Korra flushed, pleased. She'd asked Pema to help her get ready for the festival, and the woman had placed a lovely cherry blossom comb in the girl's hair, and loaned her a dress for the occasion. Korra was told it was customary for the girls to wear traditional dresses as festivals; she had no experience, so she trusted Pema's judgement.

"Thanks," she said, glancing at Mako. He frowned to himself, then offered her a slight smile.

"You guys look pretty snazzy, too." Bolin grinned and straightened his hat, while Mako coughed and straightened his jacket. They were both in, well, not _new_ clothes, but traditional jackets that probably came from a secondhand store. They still cut a nice shape for the bending brothers.

"Let's go! Let's go!" Ikki bounced around. "I wanna eat chocolate bananas on a stick!"

"They have those?" Korra turned to Bolin.

"You bet!" He rubbed his stomach. "One year I ate like twenty of them."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Mako scoffed, "And then you were sick for two days after."

Bolin shrugged. "Worth it."

"Thanks again for taking the kids with you," Pema said, placing a hand on Jinora's head fondly. "Tenzin and I could use a night in to ourselves."

"No problem, it'll be fun," Korra said, hoping those weren't famous last words.

o/o

They rode the ferry to the mainland with a few other festival goers from the island, then took a tram to the park in the center of the city where the cherry blossoms bloomed and the festival was in full swing.

They could hear the crowds from blocks away, and followed the string of red and yellow lanterns that hung against the dusk pink sky.

Korra gawked every which way as they passed through the giant gate – there was so much to see, and all of it was completely foreign to her. The magicians, fire dancers, food stalls, puppet shows, game tables, plus the cherry blossom trees themselves… she didn't know where to turn.

"Where to first?" She asked excitedly.

"Food!" Meelo declared, pointing to a cart with fried noodles. "Foodfoodfood!"

"I am pretty hungry," Korra grinned at Mako, who walked beside her.

"The noodles are pretty good," he said, "but there's a better stall a bit further in. They stake out the same spot every year, and Bolin and I have been going back to that one every year."

"They give the biggest portions," Bolin winked at Jinora, who giggled.

They found the cart and picked a spot under a large cherry tree where they could eat and watch the festival around them.

"How long ago did the festival start?" Korra asked., leaning against the tree trunk and patting her full belly.

"At least since we were young," Mako answered. "I remember coming here as a kid."

"Seventy years ago," Jinora piped up. "Avatar Aang and Fire Lord Zuko planted the trees as a symbol of peace when they founded the city."

"I never knew that," Bolin said, impressed and the girl's cheeks colored.

"Can we go do the games next?" Ikki pranced from foot to foot. "Korra, you should do the feat of strength! I bet you'd beat everyone!"

"What's that?"

"It's one of the booths," Mako pointed over his shoulder. "You arm wrestle the person running it – usually some big hulking guy – and if you win, you get a prize. Sometimes the crowds will place bets."

Korra's eyes lit up. "Boys, I think we just found a way into some money."

o/o

"Step right up, ladies and gentlemen!" The booth tender called, a large man with rippling biceps. He flexed impressively and said, "Who's next to try your luck in a game of strength?"

"Me!" Korra stepped forward and the crowd broke out into excited whispers.

The man laughed, "If you insist, miss. Come on up," he gesture toward his table, where there were two chairs on each side. He took a seat and held out one hand, resting his elbow on the table.

"Ten yuans on the guy," a young man whispered near Mako. He exchanged a look with Bolin, who grinned wickedly.

"I'll take that bet," Bolin said. "In fact, I'll double it. Twenty yuans the girl wins, and another five if she does it in less than ten seconds."

"You're on!"

They shook on it as the three airbender children giggled and Mako rolled his eyes.

Korra smirked and took her seat, holding out her own hand.

The two clasped hands, the man's giant hands dwarfing hers. "I'll go easy on you, so not as to embarrass you in front of your boyfriend there."

"He's not my boyfriend!" Korra said, exasperated. "Why does everyone think that?"

"Because your other friend is enjoying the show, while your not-boyfriend looks like he wants to rip my hand off for touching you."

Korra scoffed, but stole a glance toward Mako. He _was_ looking a little peeved. "Let's just do this!"

"On my count," he said, raising an eyebrow. "First one to touch the other's hand to the table wins."

"Ready."

"Three, two, one, go!"

Korra didn't even hesitate, she slammed the man's hand to the table, and let out of whoop of victory.

The crowd groaned in protest, and Bolin slapped the man he bet with on the back. "Sorry, friend."

Korra's opponent frowned and held out his hand again. "Looks like I went a little too easy on you. Again."

"Gladly."

Bolin nudged his betting partner. "Double or nothing?"

The man looked between Korra and Bolin, suspicious, but said. "Fine, double or nothing!"

This time, Korra let the man push against her hand for a moment, reveling in the crowd's shouts and cheers. Then, with another victorious cry, her fist topped his and the crowd went wild.

Korra bowed to her fans as Bolin held out his hand to collect his winnings, a wide grin plastered across his face.

Mako could only watch in amusement as the girl basked in the attention as Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo joined the throng cheering around him.

o/o

"So, how about those bananas?" Bolin asked some time later. Jinora and Ikki cheered, and Meelo jumped on the earthbender's back.

"Banananananana!" He called.

Korra looked longingly at the fire dancers' stage, where a performance was about to begin.

Mako looked from his brother to Korra and said, "Why don't you go on ahead, bro? We'll catch up with you in a bit."

"Really? You don't mind?" Korra asked.

Bolin gave his brother a speculative look, and shrugged at Korra. "Sure thing, _bro_." Bolin knew that whenever Mako broke out the familial nickname, he was going to be asking for some kind of favor. When it hit Bolin just what that favor was, he wagged his eyebrows behind Korra's back and sniggered. Mako made a face in return.

"Yay, Bolin's taking us to get bananas!" Ikki shouted. "Come on, come on, let's _go!"_

Meelo airbended himself onto Bolin's shoulders and grabbed fists of his hair. Jinora seemed to catch on to the fact that Korra and Mako were being left to themselves and started giggling madly. Bolin hushed her with a wink before Korra could turn back around and notice.

Instead, she remained oblivious as Jinora and Bolin watched Mako lead Korra through the crowd with a hand at the small of her back.

o/o

Korra stood utterly transfixed as she and Mako watched the fire dancers. They moved with the grace and power of the legendary dragons, flipping in complicated acrobatics and weaving in and out of bursts of flames. It was unless anything the girl had ever seen.

"Wow," she whispered. "Do you think they'd ever teach me how to do that?"

Mako smiled wryly. Of course Korra wanted to learn any new technique that crossed her path. "I doubt they have the time to teach crazy teenaged girls, especially ones who are also still busy studying airbending and fighting in pro-bending matches every week."

Korra pouted. "Still."

They watched in admiration, applauding loudly as the dancers took their final bow.

Looking around, Korra asked, "Where now? Should we go find the others? It's getting kind of late, and I bet Meelo's passed out by now."

Mako gathered himself up and said, after a brief pause, "Why don't we go for a walk first?"

She blinked twice, but smiled and agreed.

The two walked along the paths in the park through the moonlit cherry blossoms, the festival's lanterns still aglow. All around them, couples strolled by, holding hands or smiling.

It took a while, but Korra finally noticed that _only_ couples were around them. "Where did all the families go?" She asked innocently.

"Oh, um," Mako cleared his throat. "After the fire dancers, it's kind of traditionally the time for couples and sweethearts."

"Couples, huh? Should we go home then?"

"Well, we _are_ two people. That's technically a couple."

Korra looked at him blankly and Mako could see she wasn't going to put two and two together. He sighed dramatically, reached down, threaded his fingers between hers and squeezed her hand.

It took a moment, but then Korra gasped, her cheeks darkening. "Oh."

"Yeah."

"Okay then." She smiled and squeezed his hand back. "Let's go for a walk."

o/o

Korra had been waiting for something like this, and didn't know why she didn't realize what was happening sooner. They'd known each other for months now, and been through a lot together. She'd even kissed him once, but it was spurred by the blind panic of thinking she'd never see him alive again.

They never spoke of the kiss afterwards. Korra was too embarrassed after Mako didn't react, and Mako, well, she didn't know what he was thinking. She thought that it would be good for him to have control in this one part of his life. She'd pretty much turned every aspect of it upside down. But then he didn't do anything and she'd been waiting so long for him to make a move that she'd pretty much given up hope and tried to move on.

That was impossible, of course, but a girl couldn't let her life revolve around a boy who didn't want her. Especially if that girl was the avatar.

But now…now it seemed like Mako was finally ready.

Her heart pounded as she tightened her grip, soaking in the warmth of his touch. Her stomach turned over and she stole a glance at her companion. He wore a slight smile, and his cheeks were touched with pink, barely visible in the lantern lit courtyard.

The cherry blossom petals fluttered around them, and Korra hummed in contentment. "It looks like it's snowing," she said, watching the petals fall.

"Hm? Yeah, it does," he agreed.

"You seem distracted. What's up?"

He stopped walking, and Korra waited beside him to speak, placing her other hand on his forearm. "It just seems like this moment has been a long time coming, and now that it's here, I don't know what to do," he confessed.

"Just do whatever comes to mind first," she suggested. "That's what I do and it usually works out pretty well for me."

"It _never_ works out well for you," he said with a mocking grin.

"I wouldn't say _never_," she protested. He gave her a look. "But I'll admit to sometimes."

"I'll take it."

She bumped his shoulder with her own. "So? What don't you know how to do?"

He exhaled deeply. "I don't know how to tell you how I feel."

Korra fidgeted, fighting her impatience as he searched for the words.

When he didn't say anything more for another full minute, she couldn't take it anymore.

"For crying out loud," she exclaimed, "Just kiss me already if that's what you want!"

That seemed good enough for him.

He yanked her closer by their still connected hands, cradled her face with his free hand, and pressed his lips to hers with a fierce passion that only a firebender could contain for as long as he had.

She complied gladly, leaning closer and returning kiss for kiss. She rubbed her thumb against his, placing her other hand on his waist and pushing up on her toes to get closer.

He made a sound, low in his throat, and lightly ran his tongue along her lower lip. She smiled and opened up to him, and they fought for the upper hand, each pushing the other, grinning and nipping at skin.

"It's about time," she breathed, pulling back to catch her breath.

He leaned his forehead against hers. "Call it payback for making me wait when you're late to morning practices."

Korra pouted. Mako laughed and kissed her lips lightly.

"I am sorry it took me so long. You're kind of intimidating, you know?"

"Yeah, I _am_ pretty amazing."

He laughed and pulled her into a tight hug, tucking her head into the crook of his neck. "Yeah, you kind of are."

o/o

By the time they finally reunited with Bolin, he was leaning against a tree with his three charges asleep around him.

"Sorry," Korra whispered. "We lost track of time. Thank you so much for watching them!"

"You owe me so big, bro," he replied, smirking at Mako. "I won't even ask if you had fun. I don't think I want to know."

Mako declined to dignify that with any reply and crouched down to pull Ikki onto his back. "Come on, let's get these guys to bed."

As Korra walked home with Meelo on her hip, Mako and Bolin beside her, and the memory of Mako's touch seared into her brain, she decided she could most definitely call the festival a success.

* * *

_a/n This fic brought to you but the festival prompt of kogoro556_._ I hope you enjoyed it. I had to stretch a few things to make it work time-wise, but I just love cherry blossom festivals and couldn't resist. _


End file.
